Rebel's Fire
by Palmviolet
Summary: Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to the Tenth Annual Hunger Games! Jay is a butcher's daughter living in District 10. When she is reaped her life changes forever, but before she dies there's something she must do. Rated T for gore, swearing and character death.


**Hi people. This is my 'great idea'! It's inspired by Catching Fire the movie, as I watched it last weekend. Best movie ever! This is basically a fanfic made up of my OCs. It's like a prequel, kind of.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE HUNGER GAMES CONCEPT- but all of my OCs are mine, obviously.**

My world collapses with the reading of one name.  
"Jay Ink!" is called and my life ends in a single heartbeat. I find myself walking forward, unable to think or feel. All I can say in my head is 'why me? why me?' over and over again.  
I reach the stage and step up, my heart pounding in my mouth.  
"Excellent! And now for the boy!" The tiny woman on the stage squeaks. Her hair is dyed to resemble green tiger stripes and it looks ghastly, especially with her bright pink catsuit.  
She dips her hand in the sea of names, fishing around for a moment. Then she flicks her wrist and her hand comes up clutching a small strip of paper. She unfolds it, and I can feel my heart beating.  
"Seth Wren!" She calls, and my heart drops to my toes. The boy in question is eighteen and as handsome as a boy can be. He has dark curly hair and the makings of a beard and moustache, with chocolate brown eyes that scream 'You want to kiss me' all the time. Also, he's really fit. I've seen him throw a spear and he's no joke.  
He looks incredibly nervous now though. He is pale and his jaw is hanging, still stuck in the moment of the announcing of his name. I glance at him and we share a brief moment of connection before we are ushered away to the Justice Building. It's not as fancy as it's meant to be- the pillars are covered in graffiti and the banners are ripped and filthy.  
Inside is no better. The red carpet is grimy and muddy and every statue is coated in a thick layer of dust. We are led upstairs to tiny rooms full of cobwebs and left alone, before our first visitor comes in.  
My first ones are my parents and siblings. My dad is still wearing his bloody butcher's apron, which he forgot to take off for the reaping. My mum is pale with shock and I can see she's already been crying. My eldest brother, Hawk, is clutching Wolf, the other elder brother. Between them stands Moth, my younger sister, whose huge brown eyes are wide like a rabbit caught in the headlights. She shares my platinum blond hair, whereas my brothers are all dark-haired.  
"Win. Please win." She begs. I crouch down so I'm on her level.  
"You know what? I think I will." I say, trying my best to smile. She flings her arms around my neck and sobs onto my shoulder and I sigh, before detaching her and standing up.  
"You'll take care of yourself, l'il sis?" Hawk rumbles, his deep voice cracking. I nod.  
"And remember your strength. Don't let someone smaller than you use it against you." Wolf adds, grasping my hand. The ghost of a grin flickers across my lips as I remember years of fighting my brothers, losing at the start but occasionally winning towards the end. Close-quarter fighting will probably be my biggest asset in the arena, as there probably won't be anyone much bigger than me. I'm seventeen, but years of wrestling with my brothers and eating almost nothing but meat has made me strong and tough.  
"You can do this. If anyone else in our district was reaped, I would count us out. But you're a fighter." My father finishes, looping his arm around my mother's neck. She strokes my cheek, and then the Peacekeepers are coming in, pulling us apart and taking my family out.  
My next visitor is Heidi, my best friend. She's the daughter of a farmer, who sells us the animals we slaughter. Sometimes I come to collect them, and I see her. I remember the first time we spoke.  
It was a very hot day, and I had walked the whole fifteen-kilometre walk from our butcher shop to her farm. That day I was there to collect a lamb that had been forgotten on my last trip. She offered to take me back in the tractor she was driving and I gratefully accepted. Most of the journey was spent in silence, but occasionally we'd talk. Mostly about how we hate the Capitol, as the roar of the tractor's engine was loud enough to block our words.  
She clasps my hand and we sit in silence, taking comfort in each other's presence. When they come to take her away she tells me to win, and then she's gone.  
The last visitor is unexpected. It's Logan Farr, or Mayor Farr to the rest of us. Why has the Mayor come to see me? It's not like I've ever spoken to him. He stands in the doorway awkwardly, before heading boldly towards me.  
"Good luck." He announces, his dark eyes alight with something unrecognisable. Hope? But why would the Mayor of District 10 have hope that I would win?  
I nod, unsure of how to respond. Suddenly he reaches forward and embraces me in a hug and I almost recoil, startled beyond relief.  
"You show them. You show the Capitol. Our spirit hasn't died yet." He whispers in my ear, and I immediately understand. I'm to undermine the Capitol, to keep the rebel fire going. Ten years and it hasn't quite died down yet.  
Like Thirteen hasn't.


End file.
